Because I have nothing.

I want to create a race of sci fi elves. But I got nothing, other than 'fair skinned, pointed ears, long fine hair'; the usual.

This is not good.

Psychic/Psionic, makes more sense than magic in space games. You can go two ways: Highly Psionic with crystalline technology, artistic military and civilian hardware, architecture and the like.

Or focus on them as nature lovers--crafting starships of living coral* (outershell isn't, but is very hard and nonpourous dead-coral.) Organic technology everywhere, from weapons grown in cultured hyroponic vat-gardens, and growing pools to living battlesuits, combat allies (pets/friends--like giant wardogs of virtually supernatural resilience and strength.)  

Culturally I'd examine how realistic or pastiche you want to go, admittedly I'm dreaming up Celtic Kirbyesque Tuatha De Danaan for H&S2E so I've been brainstorming a lot of such ideas.



*I've an alien race in a "not quite" Middle-range (between hard and soft) SF game called the Chx'tyll who are sentient beetle-like hominids from a high G desert planet. Most of the life there lives underground near the various climes that can be found out of the harsh radiation and super-hellish duststorms. They're dual skeleton species (internal skeleton for support, chitinous shell for resilience.) They grow their coral from the underground seas.

The interesting thing (to me) about elves in any context is not so much what they look like or even any cool powers they have, but rather the fact that they are ancient. They vastly pre-date humanity. And they are part of a culture that is connected with the world (universe) itself in some deep way. And they are disillusioned with this world (universe) since the proliferation of humanity and are now moving on to leave the world (universe) in the hands of these short-lived humans while they go find another blank slate to commune with for (nearly) ever.

So I'd go there.

They would need to be:

Ancient
Arrogant - or Paternal (shepherdly)
Mystically inclined somehow (knowledge in ways seemingly profane to others, the way the Eldar know all about the Warp in 40k where the Warp is eeeevil).
Attuned to Nature/natural forces

I would go another route, severing their ties to nature.  Delve into their long lifespans and obsessive nature.  I would make sci-elves embrace technology, especially information technology.  They were the first "wired" race of cybernetic net-pilots, the first explorers of the frontiers of the mind. Embrace the concept of their longevity by making their kings and queens a viral AI program - when the flesh dies, the nobility are "uploaded" into their god-program.

Maybe there's a Seelie and an Unseelie Court, who are friendly and hostile to humanity respectively.

Are you going to have space drow? They could be associated with space itself, whereas elves are associated with planets.

Quote from: Age of Fable;379331Maybe there's a Seelie and an Unseelie Court, who are friendly and hostile to humanity respectively.

Are you going to have space drow? They could be associated with space itself, whereas elves are associated with planets.

I think so, I have some ideas as to what makes them 'dark'. I was thinking of naming them 'Samhain' and the regular space elves 'baeltaine'. I'm not sure though, but I think Samhain is a great name for an evil kinda race.

Give them some deep, dark, horrible secret. Have them guilty of committing some terrible, horrific act long ago that fills them with guilt and drives them to constantly try to make amends in some way.

Quote from: Cylonophile;379336Give them some deep, dark, horrible secret. Have them guilty of committing some terrible, horrific act long ago that fills them with guilt and drives them to constantly try to make amends in some way.

The genocide of most humans but for a colony on Earth?

I like these more unique ideas, I was sadly posting very late with no sleep. So forgive me


I like the idea of Low-G creating their thin frames and great height, of them living perhaps aboard straships or space platforms, although I'd keep nature prevalent--inside the ships. Since that's not a common thing you see in spaceships. Nature themes, actual plants, grown to produce oxygen at increased rates.

Add to that perhaps not trans-elven but a close design of their servants. Fairy things which groom them  and assist them. The Seelie court has wing glowing sprites as multipurpose gear--light, grooming, manipulation of items. Clothes woven by flea sized spiders as needed. Satyr manservants to carry things, Dryads to serve them in private (companions, to talk too, make their beds, have sex with whatever..) Everything beautiful or handsome and pleasing in some way. Developed to appease them.
The Unseelie court is much the opposite, their servants are ugly--ogres to fight, stump backed dwarf menservants--all slaves, twisted and ugly and horrible simply so they can bask in their own prettiness.

Maybe not even have a "moral" divide just an aesthetic one. Great ships of architectural beauty, or somewhat mishappen but naturally so like old growth in forests. Designed for each individual. Little connection to their race, except through mating/family. Very much great and terrible houses, often inbred (cousins to cousins) to maintain the bloodlines purity. Their mastery of technology and especially organic technology makes them seem godlike and magical. They can kill with a glance some creatures (commanding lethal diseases they carry in a safe state in their body to destroy their foes.) Energy weapons keyed to their minds built into their clothes and jewelry or their very bodies.

Jealous, beautiful, shepherding lesser races as amends for their follies (perhaps genocide, perhaps simply a dictate from even greater beings.) Struggling with their arrogance, and needs to help. Their beauty and the demands to grub-around with man and other species. Battles between them are rarely ship to ship, or army to army, but personal duels, sharp words to impugn, death glances commanding weapons, sword to sword for honor, all at the same time. An odd mystic dance of their culture raised to technology as magic heights. The greatest victory is rarely to kill, instead to win concessions from a foe, planets, mineral rights, even spreading a kind word about their foe, humbling before them.

Quote from: Silverlion;379337The genocide of most humans but for a colony on Earth?

I like these more unique ideas, I was sadly posting very late with no sleep. So forgive me

The thread was a valid request for help on a RPG related issue, nothing to forgive anyone for.

One point: As a hard SF purist I hate the idea that humans were somehow imported to earth, there's way too much evidence that humanity evolved on earth for that to pass the science test. (OK, niven managed to do a decent job of something like that in "Protector" but it was still a stretch.)

As to their intervention in human history, maybe they tinkered with primitive primates in some way, looking to create a slave race or something that eventually lead to humanity. This would be a bit lovecraftian as his "elder things" did the same thing, but not a bad concept.

One issue you can explore is making most of the race fundamentally decadent, out of centuries or millennia of sheer ennui that mot humans can't even begin to imagine. As such they seek the most trivial, fleeting moments of interest or distraction, and maybe treat other races as playthings for their trivial amusement. Perhaps the younger members of the species, not as decadent as the rest, find this repugnant and oppose it in some ways.

Quote from: Cylonophile;379339The thread was a valid request for help on a RPG related issue, nothing to forgive anyone for.

One point: As a hard SF purist I hate the idea that humans were somehow imported to earth, there's way too much evidence that humanity evolved on earth for that to pass the science test. (OK, niven managed to do a decent job of something like that in "Protector" but it was still a stretch.)

As to their intervention in human history, maybe they tinkered with primitive primates in some way, looking to create a slave race or something that eventually lead to humanity.

I was thinking "Far in the future" actually and a group of humanity returned to Earth, they left them alone because it was them back on their home world. They rebuilt though and helped humans return in numbers after the tragedy they created. I do understand the hatred of that trope. Along with "humans can't have built great things without aliens.." both annoying.

Another annoying trope is humans winning against them. Perhaps the opposite is true. They were losing--these Space Elves, horribly so, because of their inability to get together and cooperate in large enough numbers to be as effective as the millions of humans. Yet in this twist they managed to overcome their long standing prejudices and wipe the floor with humanity in short order.  Yet as it went on they realized even if they won, the devastation and cost would be so high on both sides. Their new found cooperation (again) made them far stronger and more powerful than humans could be because of their primitive technologies, and that they might have had the same thing happen to them. So they sue for peace as the "gift" of returning to cooperation is a significant enough win in their culture. They humiliated the humans, now it was time to help them out.

I want to avoid the "humans win" trope, and also not pull a B5 per se in this concept. (I love B5 mind you.)  In this case its "We won already! Now what?"

It's important that space elves are at once separate from the greater protaginist realm, but also part of it. Allies, perhaps with elven territory within that realm.

Quote from: Silverlion;379337The genocide of most humans but for a colony on Earth?

I like these more unique ideas, I was sadly posting very late with no sleep. So forgive me


I like the idea of Low-G creating their thin frames and great height, of them living perhaps aboard straships or space platforms, although I'd keep nature prevalent--inside the ships. Since that's not a common thing you see in spaceships. Nature themes, actual plants, grown to produce oxygen at increased rates.

Add to that perhaps not trans-elven but a close design of their servants. Fairy things which groom them  and assist them. The Seelie court has wing glowing sprites as multipurpose gear--light, grooming, manipulation of items. Clothes woven by flea sized spiders as needed. Satyr manservants to carry things, Dryads to serve them in private (companions, to talk too, make their beds, have sex with whatever..) Everything beautiful or handsome and pleasing in some way. Developed to appease them.
The Unseelie court is much the opposite, their servants are ugly--ogres to fight, stump backed dwarf menservants--all slaves, twisted and ugly and horrible simply so they can bask in their own prettiness.

Maybe not even have a "moral" divide just an aesthetic one. Great ships of architectural beauty, or somewhat mishappen but naturally so like old growth in forests. Designed for each individual. Little connection to their race, except through mating/family. Very much great and terrible houses, often inbred (cousins to cousins) to maintain the bloodlines purity. Their mastery of technology and especially organic technology makes them seem godlike and magical. They can kill with a glance some creatures (commanding lethal diseases they carry in a safe state in their body to destroy their foes.) Energy weapons keyed to their minds built into their clothes and jewelry or their very bodies.

Jealous, beautiful, shepherding lesser races as amends for their follies (perhaps genocide, perhaps simply a dictate from even greater beings.) Struggling with their arrogance, and needs to help. Their beauty and the demands to grub-around with man and other species. Battles between them are rarely ship to ship, or army to army, but personal duels, sharp words to impugn, death glances commanding weapons, sword to sword for honor, all at the same time. An odd mystic dance of their culture raised to technology as magic heights. The greatest victory is rarely to kill, instead to win concessions from a foe, planets, mineral rights, even spreading a kind word about their foe, humbling before them.

Definitely this. Maybe they take humans as such servants as well.

Quote from: Cylonophile;379336Give them some deep, dark, horrible secret. Have them guilty of committing some terrible, horrific act long ago that fills them with guilt and drives them to constantly try to make amends in some way.

Dunno, that's too close to 'we created the chaos god, but don't tell anyone' territory. It's a fine idea, but i'd rather something a bit more different.

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;379404Definitely this. Maybe they take humans as such servants as well.

Indeed. Of course they might also decide to "slum" to regain something they lost by dwelling among humans--sort of penance for their sins, but also a victory in rekindling lost passion for more than their own glorious selves.